2021 Season Thread

[Carcassdragger]

Well here in Tucson most parts of town have had like 11-15 inches of rain since the beginning of July so it's basically not even a desert here anymore. Green as Ireland here now with 8 foot weeds growing in fields

I would never expect guaranteed wins ,just a competitive team that is enjoyable to watch. I was not planning on coming to any games this year because I think, while we are headed in the right direction, we'll probably stink this year. But your post makes me long for Tucson and miss it. I love the desert over there. Might have to come to a game this year after all.

[Merkin]

Not that I would go anyway, but now I really won't go.

[ASUHATER!]

Well my mom already bought tickets to the UCLA game and I plan on going still but I'm definitely wearing a mask

[Sid]

Yes. It sure is a contrast to last year when we basically had no monsoon. Hoping for more rain right into fall when the temps get to where we can enjoy this green desert.

Hopefully you guys get the fall rains. Side note- My first stop before the hotel was Plaza Liquors & Fine Wine on Campbell. What a gem! They have some really good people working there, man I wish I had a little spot like that back home. The wine selection is outstanding. Bought a handle of vodka & some mixers but the wife did buy wine. Tucson rocks!

[UAEebs86]

[84Cat]

When I hear country music I walk the other direction, I am jealous of those who can tolerate/enjoy it.

I'm with you but I do like some of Chris Stapleton's stuff.

OC to Yuma 3 straight hours of the wife/daughters favorite country playlist. That shit stopped when I took over the ship. Classic rock vinyl all the way to Tucson.

Fuck, the desert is green. Just a tad bit of rain this Summer, huh?

[scumdevils86]

It feels like fall rain hasn't really been a thing for a while here. Maybe this year though with how crazy it's been. I haven't really left my house at all much...what with a pandemic, working from home for 17 months, a pregnant wife, and now a 2 week old baby at home. But the little glimpses I get definitely make it seem greener than I've ever seen.

[AV8RCAT]

Had a hit back 20+ years ago?

That should really get the kids fired up…

Who that would fire up the kids would be available for a free concert on the mall?

Who should we focus on? The kids who make the program look like shit with an empty zoo by halftime? Younger alumni who don't even go to games because they had to move to pursue a career?

The program needs to recruit Tucson and Pima County as a whole, not just those with university connections. The kids aren't the most engaged fans and they aren't the one's with the most disposable income.

[scumdevils86]

Get off my lawn!

DAMN KIDS THESE DAYS!!

[AV8RCAT]

Get off my lawn!

DAMN KIDS THESE DAYS!!

Even Saban complains about his student section.
If you want to fill the stadium, you have to do it with the people who live here. Boomers/Gen X is too large a market to ignore due to prejudice.

[scumdevils86]

It's odd in a way that the older I get the less I respect the opinions of cranky, old, entitled people.

[AV8RCAT]

Retirees and older workers are a big demographic here. Michigan and Ohio State will always be their favs, but I've seen them adopt the home team time and again. Shame we don't have shuttle buses anymore. They made game day a whole lot easier, even for those who still drive at night.

[Chicat]

Had a hit back 20+ years ago?

That should really get the kids fired up…

Who that would fire up the kids would be available for a free concert on the mall?

Maybe if we weren’t tens of millions of dollars in debt due to ill-advised hirings and one super shitty firing, we could pay for someone with talent who appeals to a wide-swath of the community. Not just the elderly, infirm, and tone-deaf.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Retirees and older workers are a big demographic here. Michigan and Ohio State will always be their favs, but I've seen them adopt the home team time and again. Shame we don't have shuttle buses anymore. They made game day a whole lot easier, even for those who still drive at night.

You can do both. A good athletic department is going to recognize and reach out to both younger and older fans.

I mean, it's tough to book Vassar as an opening act for 21 Savage and expect to appeal to both demographics at the same time, but there's nothing wrong with events tailored to one or the other.

[UAEebs86]

Retirees and older workers are a big demographic here. Michigan and Ohio State will always be their favs, but I've seen them adopt the home team time and again. Shame we don't have shuttle buses anymore. They made game day a whole lot easier, even for those who still drive at night.

You can do both. A good athletic department is going to recognize and reach out to both younger and older fans.

I mean, it's tough to book Vassar as an opening act for 21 Savage and expect to appeal to both demographics at the same time, but there's nothing wrong with events tailored to one or the other.

I don't know who either of those acts are, so I'll be at home in front of my big screen.

Get off my (rock) lawn!

[AV8RCAT]

Had a hit back 20+ years ago?

That should really get the kids fired up…

Who that would fire up the kids would be available for a free concert on the mall?

Maybe if we weren’t tens of millions of dollars in debt due to ill-advised hirings and one super shitty firing, we could pay for someone with talent who appeals to a wide-swath of the community. Not just the elderly, infirm, and tone-deaf.

You just a country hater LOL. Phil Vassar is quite talented and an accomplished song writer. "Elderly and infirm?" LOL He's not Tommy Dorsey or the Andrews Sisters. He's not a superstar in the genre, but plenty of 30+ will know who he is. I'm not sure what genre's would be more popular in AZ.
They're just trying to add to the game day experience, maybe one game they will host someone who appeals to you.

[TheCatInTheHat]

As an old entitled person (translation: relatively experienced and successful), I'll admit I never heard of Vassar, or many other country performers. But the way Fisch seems to be getting involved in all aspects of the football environment (DJ at the games, etc.), I think the evolution and outreach will continue to broaden the base, which should have happened 30 or 40 years ago. Whether it's the Spanish language broadcasts or appealing to devotees of various music genres, they're making some efforts. I only live about 20 minutes away, and I'll continue to drive and park. I do like the shuttle bus idea, although it shouldn't just be from El Con or someplace like that. It should be like the USC model, where they come up from the OC, etc. It's a pretty long haul to the games from the Oro Valley or Dove Mountain housing developments and elsewhere, but if you coordinated express bus service with those and other communities, I think that could be very successful. And, there's a negative culture in our fan base that needs to be overcome. Too many people look backward and have every negative historical statistic memorized, rather than looking forward. Frankly, rather than talking yourself blue in the face with those who refuse to show up until or unless you achieve the unlikely goal of consistently winning 9+ games a year, I think you just move on and focus elsewhere. I used to joke about the "perennial 7-4 Dick Tomey teams", but that may be what our resources will support, along with an occasional bigger year, and the inevitable rebuilding year. We look back on that now with nostalgia, but even back then, we didn't sell-out or have a waiting list for tickets with a smallish stadium, and that was before 70-inch 4K TVs. There would be nothing wrong with having a reasonably competitive and entertaining "gutty little team" with a carefully crafted and enjoyable fan experience at the stadium, for those who are willing to pay the price of admission.

[azgreg]

[azgreg]

[UAEebs86]

Awesome

[AV8RCAT]

With competent coaching.

[azcat49]

Reading all kinds of great happenings at the fall red/blue scrimmage tonight? Anyone down in Tucson here that made it out?

[azgreg]

[TheCat]

Think he is pretty accurate on our chances. Seems very worried about BYU's defensive stunts/blitzes against our Oline. Worth a listen.

[azgreg]

[azgreg]

[azgreg]

[UAEebs86]

Don't have a NY Times subscription but UofA mentioned:

[Spaceman Spiff]

Don't have a NY Times subscription but UofA mentioned:

Finding wins that don't rely on scoring more points than opponents on the field is a solid strategy for Arizona football.

[azcat49]

Building a culture Spiff

[Merkin]

Don't have a NY Times subscription but UofA mentioned:

Just right click in Chrome and open an incognito window. No subscription necessary.


Some coaches have tried to help players’ parents navigate an uncertain era. Jedd Fisch, the new coach at Arizona, said he had used video calls to make a blunt case to parents: “I don’t want to have to call you to tell you your son’s in the hospital.”

[Postmaster]

Probly shouldn’t play football then

[OSUCat]

I’m watching Wisconsin do there 4th quarter jump around. Was pretty electric.

I really hope Fisch drop the plans to sing All Hail Arizona and that random song before the 4th. It really won’t go well. If Fisch wants to get the fans rocking, play some song that gets the fans excited. Heck, just go with Bear Down it’s more known and is directly football related.

[azgreg]

[Spaceman Spiff]

Dude, I'll take that. Heck, I'd take anything above #80 pretty immediately.

[Merkin]

Top 25? Why even bother calling it that anymore.

[gronk4heisman]

Top 25? Why even bother calling it that anymore.

That is based on total votes received. Each voter only votes for the top 25. I can almost guarantee the votes Arizona got were for ASU by east coast media that do not know we are different schools.

[azgreg]

Actually 43rd with 5 points.

https://apnews.com/article/sports-colle ... 6f07992f45

[Spaceman Spiff]

Top 25? Why even bother calling it that anymore.

That is based on total votes received. Each voter only votes for the top 25. I can almost guarantee the votes Arizona got were for ASU by east coast media that do not know we are different schools.

I'll still take it. We were pretty distinguishable last year as the worst P5 team in America.

[TheCatInTheHat]

That is based on total votes received. Each voter only votes for the top 25. I can almost guarantee the votes Arizona got were for ASU by east coast media that do not know we are different schools.

Actually, it's even dumber than that. A number of pollsters didn't return a ballot this week, maybe because of an insufficient sample size to draw many conclusions, or working media that covered a game all day and didn't get a chance to see any others. Assuming that's the case, that's okay; there's certainly a logic to that. In our situation, the five points (not votes) that we got which put us in the tie for #42 with UAB all came from one person. Madison Blevins is a sports reporter for NBC-affiliate WBIR-TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. She's a Knoxville lifer who played college basketball at Belmont College in Nashville. She picked us #21, and that evidently gave us the five points in the Associated Press weighted scoring system. (I'll assume you get 25 points for a vote for #1.) So there you have it. I'll take a wild guess that she either likes our uniforms, she got excited about our women's basketball team's run last season and became a fan, or maybe she's related to Leon Blevins, who played basketball here in the 1940s. A good example of "follow the science" with polling.


Madison Blevins

[ramcat]

Lolol, that's Awesome!! CFN has a 75, San Diego St 78.

[ramcat]

https://collegefootballnews.com/2021/09 ... 0-week-1/3

[Chicat]

I’m guessing as gronk4heisman also surmised that Madison mixed us up with ASSU.

[TheCatInTheHat]

We may never know. She had an incomplete ballot, with blanks in some positions, like for #24, etc. (The incomplete ballot thing is very common among the voters.) She didn't list ASU at all, so a mix-up about that is also a possibility. Or maybe she was just really unimpressed with their early schedule of Southern Utah State and UNLV. In any event, if it cost them some points and she gave them to us, I think that's great. But, it's a perfect illustration of how exact and scientific this process is.

[azgreg]

[azgreg]

[Chicat]

We put the L in LOL.

[azgreg]

We put the L in LOL.

Peak Arizona football.

[scumdevils86]

Ummmm.

I revise my shamefully optimistic 4-8 season prediction (I was fooled for the first time in about 7 years into some optimism with Jedd's song and dance).

I now say 1-11. And that 1 will be pretty tight against a bad NAU team. Like a 24-20 win.

But we could very well lose to a bad FCS team.

[OSUCat]

I’m really worried about Fisch play calling. If NAU gets up early…..